29/11/2012 - Experts in the battle against offshore tax evasion from 22 countries met in Tokyo this week. Japan's National Tax Administration hosted this meeting of the FTA's Offshore Compliance network, which took place over two days. The experts discussed recent developments in information exchange and other practical steps they are taking to improve the detection and correction of offshore evasion. These included the best ways to build on recent voluntary disclosure programmes and current best practice in offshore compliance work, particularly in tackling schemes that involve the misuse of corporate vehicles. The network will continue its work to improve the flow of information between its members and the sharing of intelligence about offshore evasion schemes that are being detected.

Background

The Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) is a unique forum for co-operation between revenue bodies at commissioner-level with participation from 43 countries. Recognising the importance of the ongoing fight against offshore evasion, the FTA created a Network of experts in the field in late 2011. The Network has already developed a number of practical methods for improving the detection and correction of offshore evasion and is encouraging closer collaboration between tax administrations in this area. Japan generously agreed to host this latest face to face meeting so that experts could take stock of the progress already made and discuss recent developments in the exchange of information.